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Frederique Constant Celebrates 35 Years and 31 Calibers

To celebrate a manufacturing milestone and its own 35th anniversary, Frederique Constant during Geneva Watch Days is launching the Classic Power Reserve Big Date Manufacture, a 40mm watch powered by Caliber FC-735, the watchmaker’s thirty-first manufacture caliber.

The new Frederique Constant Classic Power Reserve Big Date Manufacture, here pictured in a steel case.

And to spread the self-love, Frederique Constant is making the watch available in four versions, all of which feature displays indicating power reserve, date and moon phase.

One model features a rose gold case and a grey anthracite dial and will be a limited edition of 350. It will be offered on a brown alligator strap.

Two additional models, cased in steel with either a blue or silver dial, will join the watchmaker’s ongoing Manufacture collection.

These non-limited versions share the same polished steel case and blue alligator leather strap. (At $4,995 the steel edition with an in-house movement is a particularly strong example of this watchmaker’s goal to remain a manufacturer of ‘affordable’ luxury watches.)

A version in a platinum case and a meteorite dial (above) on a navy blue alligator strap will be issued as a limited edition of thirty-five and will be available later this fall.

Frederique Constant notes that the FC-735 is the watchmaker’s first caliber to offer a big date, a moon phase and a power reserve indicator together in one watch. 

Also notable is the fairly long fifty-hour power reserve built in to the watch and indicated at 9 o’clock. The dial is balanced out with the big date display between the 2 o’clock position and the 3 o’clock position and the bright moon phase display at the 6 o’clock position.

Frederique Constant again makes it a simple task to adjust and set all three of these displays. The time-set function and winding mechanism are all adjusted via the crown.

And as is typical of Frederique Constant Manufacture pieces, the caseback is fitted with clear sapphire, here allowing a view into the new FC-735 Manufacture caliber. 

Prices: $27,995 (platinum case–to debut later this year), $19,995 (rose gold case) and $4,995 (steel case). 

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The Watches

Girard-Perregaux Launches Laureato Absolute 8Tech

Girard-Perregaux updates its Laureato Absolute collection with the Laureato Absolute 8Tech, a watch built with an unusual, lightweight 44mm carbon-titanium case. 

The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute 8Tech.

The watch, presented during Geneva Watch Days, is the newest in the collection that emphasizes high-tech materials to create contemporary models within the original Laureato line. Laureato is the watchmaker’s pioneering luxury collection that in 1975 was among the first to combine an eight-sided steel case with an integrated steel bracelet.

Since Girard-Perregaux debuted its Laureato Absolute collection (in 2019) we’ve seen models built with materials such as metallized sapphire crystal, carbon glass and a rubber alloy. 

To case the new Absolute 8Tech, the watchmaker starts with carbon fibers and combines them with lightweight titanium powder to form extremely thin (0.05mm) layers.

These layers are then superimposed on one another to form ‘stacks’ that are cut into octagons, a process Girard-Perregaux says is an industry first.

After a period of hand-applied finishing, the case takes on a wavy appearance, which looks a bit like those made from Damascus steel.

As a lightweight yet extremely strong watch, the Laureato Absolute 8Tech is a sporty model with a sandwich-type grey dial built atop a layer of Grade 5 titanium, a metal partially visible through several apertures in the upper portion. Each opening serves as an index, and each lies adjacent to a luminescent marking.

Inside Girard-Perregaux fits its own superb automatic Caliber GP03300-1058, which is visible through a smoky sapphire crystal back. Not surprisingly, the movement is very nicely finished with Côtes de Genève, chamfering and straight graining. 

Price: $27,300. 

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Featured Events

Geneva Watch Days: A Corum Flying Tourbillon 

Corum presents a concept watch made from recycled titanium that frames a flying tourbillon and an aventurine stone dial set, quite unusually, beneath the movement.

The new Corum Concept Watch, a flying tourbillon set with sapphire bridges and an aventurine dial.

The technical showcase, which Corum will produce in ‘extremely limited quantities,’ abounds in organic shapes with its rounded openings and gently curved case edges. Its movement appears to float amid sapphire bridges, which expose the aventurine dial below as well as all the movement’s gearing.

Corum powers the watch with a finely wrought flying tourbillon movement beating at 3 Hz (21,600 vph) offering a superior ninety-hour power reserve. The rare vertical gear alignment for the manually wound flying tourbillon here somewhat echoes the layout of the Corum Golden Bridge collection, one of the watchmaker’s best-known designs.

Corum also provides an eye-catch caseback design that again highlights the unusual gear layout. Corum designers have etched pop-art descriptions of the movement’s components adjacent to the caseback opening. 

The window whimsically highlights the tourbillon, mainspring and gear train with brief descriptions of the primary functions of each component.

The new watch only measures 39.5mm in diameter, which is unusually small for a complicated Swiss-made concept watch. Corum notes that the moderate size opens up the field of customers for the piece, which will fit on any size wrist. 

The bracelet here echoes the case and is crafted from recycled textiles and can be additionally adjusted using Corum’s own specialized bracelet adjustment system.

Price: $465,000.

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